Department for Transport

Transport: Finance

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 26735, how many schemes he expects to be funded (a) by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund in 2015-16, (b) during the Sustainable Travel Transition Year in 2016-17 and (c) by the Access Fund in 2017-18.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Local Sustainable Transport Fund supported 44 projects in 2015/16. The Sustainable Travel Transition Year competition is currently live so we cannot confirm how many projects it will support. The Access Fund has not yet been launched and we are therefore unable to estimate the number of bids it might support.

Cycling

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24092, what steps his Department is taking to tackle regional differences in cycling funding across England and for the (a) East Midlands, (b) North East and (c) East of England.

Mr Robert Goodwill: At a local level, the provision of cycling infrastructure is for local authorities to decide. The funding is there for any local area to invest in cycling if they wish to. At the Spending Review, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to walking and cycling. This included a new Access fund for sustainable travel and our Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20, which includes plans to improve 200 sections of the road network in England for cyclists. In addition, there is now long-term funding available for cycling from the Integrated Transport Block, Highways Maintenance block, and the Local Growth Fund. We have also launched the Sustainable Travel Transition Year, which is a £20m revenue competition; boosting cycling and walking levels is one of the strategic objectives of this fund. Funding will be awarded competitively, and we will not apply a regional bias.

Speed Limits

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the effect of the introduction of 20 miles per hour speed limits in residential areas on the number of accidents.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the effect of the introduction of 20 miles per hour speed limits in town centres on congestion.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the effect of the introduction of 20 miles per hour speed limits in (a) town centres and (b) residential areas on pollution.

Andrew Jones: In June 2014 the Department for Transport commissioned a comprehensive three-year research project into the effects of 20mph limits. Effects to be assessed include the impacts of 20mph limit schemes on collision and casualty levels, changes in traffic flow and impacts on air quality and noise. Evidence is being taken from twelve core case study schemes which cover a variety of area types from metropolitan and city centre locations to small town and residential areas. Three further case studies cover local authorities that have chosen not to implement 20mph schemes.

Aviation: Lasers

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to safeguard aircraft pilots from potential impairment resulting from the misuse of laser pens.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is exploring a number of options to address the threat from the misuse of laser pens. There is specific legislation prohibiting the use of laser pens against aircraft. Under the Air Navigation Order (2009), it is an offence to direct or shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft. Anyone found guilty of this offence could be liable to a fine, up to a maximum of £2,500. It is also an offence to “recklessly or negligently act in a manner to endanger an aircraft, or any person in an aircraft”. Anyone found guilty of this offence could be liable to a fine, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both.

M20: Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) Kent Police and (b) other operational authorities in managing traffic and other challenges arising from delays on the M20 this summer.

Andrew Jones: In the event that Kent Police take the decision to activate Operation Stack, Highways England stands ready to support them in managing the M20, including arranging traffic management measures and the assistance of Highways England Traffic Officers. Work has also already been done to ready Manston Airfield for use as a lorry holding area should it be required.

M20: Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance the Government has given to (a) Kent Police, (b) Kent County Council and (c) other operational organisations to cover costs incurred during the implementation of Operation Stack in summer 2015.

Andrew Jones: No additional financial assistance has been provided by the Department for Transport to Kent Police, Kent County Council, or similar operational organisations in relation to Operation Stack being implemented during 2015. I have been informed that, after careful consideration, Home Office Ministers decided not to provide funding to the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner for the additional costs incurred in policing Operation Stack on the basis that they did not meet the one per cent threshold for Special Grant funding.

Motor Vehicles: Taxation

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many prosecutions for driving without vehicle tax there were in each of the last six years.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras, wheelclamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles. The following table shows the number of prosecutions for either driving or keeping an unlicensed vehicle on a public road in the last six years. YearKeeping or Driving an untaxed vehicle201056,680201146,256201231,754201326,269201430,289201547,179

British Transport Police: Property

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to sell property of the British Transport Police.

Claire Perry: The British Transport Police does not own any of its properties, hence it has no plans to sell any of them.

Department for Transport: Security Guards

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much security guards in his Department are paid.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Only the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency directly employs security guards, employing 54 full time and part time security guards at a total salary cost of £868,475. All other security guards in the Department for Transport are employed and managed under outsourced contracts; pay data in such situations is not held by the Department.

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway Line

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what commercial sensitivity applies to section 106 (staff using handheld tablets) and section 28.1 (movement of staff) of the agreement between NXET Trains Limited and his Department of 15 July 2014 regarding the Essex Thameside franchise.

Claire Perry: The provisions mentioned have been redacted at the request of either the Director General for Rail or the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway Line

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is any provision in the agreement between NXET Trains Limited and his Department of 15 July 2014 on the Essex Thameside franchise relating to the closure of ticket offices.

Claire Perry: The agreement between NXET Trains Limited and the Department for Transport is in the public domain and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486697/essex-thameside.pdf

Transport: Greater London

Mr David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) total and (b) per capita consolidated local transport budget for London is for (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Transport for London (TfL) receives its funding from a wide range of sources, with the largest single contribution (around £4.6 billion in 2015/16) coming from fare-payers. This Department pays a transport grant to TfL, via the Greater London Authority, which was £1.516 billion in 2015/2016 and which will be £1.418 billion in 2016/17. We do not routinely publish a per capita breakdown of this grant, because spending on London’s transport infrastructure benefits not only London residents but also commuters and others travelling into the capital. There are also differences in the funding and regulatory framework between London and the rest of the country, making like-for-like comparisons difficult.

Driving Under Influence

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to lower the blood alcohol limit for drivers from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml.

Andrew Jones: The Government has no plans to lower the drink drive limit. We believe that rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink driving limit.

Egypt: Aviation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on treasuring commercial flights to Sharm el Sheikh.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is continuing to work towards a resumption of direct flights as soon as possible.

Railways: Yorkshire and the Humber

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the electrification of the Leeds- Harrogate-York railway line.

Andrew Jones: Network Rail is taking the recommendations of the North of England Electrification Task Force into account in assessing the case for further electrification of the national rail network, including the Leeds-Harrogate-York line. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy this year.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the level of uptake of low-emission vehicles has been in each year since 2010.

Andrew Jones: In 2015 more ultra low emission vehicles were registered in the UK than in the previous four years combined. The total number of new registrations of ultra low emission vehicles in each year from 2010 to 2015 is published online, and shown in the following table. New registrations of ultra low emission vehicles1 in the UKYear of first registrationNumber of registrations201021,25920112,10120123,34620134,313201415,833201529,9721. 'Ultra low emission vehicles' here includes all vehicles with fully electric powertrains, and cars and vans with tail-pipe emissions below 75 g/km of CO2 (which will overwhelmingly include plug-in hybrid vehicles).2. Figures for 2010 are for Great Britain registrations only. All other years are United Kingdom.Source: DfT statistics based on DVLA registration data: table veh0150 at www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/veh01-vehicles-registered-for-the-first-time.

London Airports: Environmental Impact Assessment

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which organisation or company has been commissioned to conduct further environmental impact studies regarding possible expansions at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff have been contracted by the Department for Transport. Their contract is available on https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/17ffaddc-3c19-4462-91ae-bf30029c08d9.

British Transport Police: Finance

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27209, on British Transport Police: finance, what assessment he has made of the operational implications of the planned reduction in the British Transport Police budget in 2016-17.

Claire Perry: Setting the budget of the British Transport Police (BTP) is a matter for the British Transport Police Authority. However, during the course of discussions on the spending review, the Department made clear to the BTP that it considered that any efficiencies that could be achieved should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the BTP. I also understand that the reduction in the BTP’s budget in 2016-17 relates to the non-core policing budget, which is policing provided by the BTP at railway operators’ request on a commercial contract basis, rather than the core police budget which is set by the Authority.

Roads: Safety

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on commissioning an independent Road Safety Management Capacity Review.

Andrew Jones: The Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015, sets out the government’s plan to undertake a road safety management capacity review, to identify areas for improved joint working, local innovation and efficiency.

M5

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what reports he has had from Highways England on the recent closure of the M5 between Junction 5 and Junction 4A northbound due to a gantry removal; and if he will publish each of those reports on that closure.

Andrew Jones: Highways England is continuing to investigate this incident and the way in which its impact on the road network was managed by the organisation and its contractors. The Secretary of State has been briefed and a review of the incident is being held with local authorities and the emergency services. Findings and recommendations are currently being prepared by Highways England and these will be shared with the Secretary of State and subsequently published on its website.

Ministry of Defence

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Official Report, column 426, on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, what UK-supplied defence equipment has been used in Yemen; what arms export licences were issued for that equipment; and whether any arms export licences for that equipment have now been revoked.

Michael Fallon: The Royal Saudi Air Force are flying British-built aircraft in Yemen, and have been provided with precision-guided Paveway weapons. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are fully compliant with the UK's export licences criteria.No export licences for Saudi Arabia have been revoked in the last year. We continue to keep all arms sales under close review.

Asylum: Applications

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether people rescued by (a) Royal Fleet Auxiliary and (b) Royal Navy vessels are able to claim for asylum in the UK if flagged in international waters.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK complies with all of its international obligations. The UK is not obliged to consider any asylum claim made on UK flagged vessels, including those of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Royal Navy, outside of the UK's territorial waters.

Ministry of Defence: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mark Lancaster: Stress is recorded as "Mental Disorders" under the World Health Organisation categories of absence, which includes non-stress related absences such as depression. The proportion of working days lost due to sickness absence for Mental and Behavioural Disorders in each of the last five years is recorded in the table below: Reporting PeriodAbsences due to ‘Mental Disorders’ as a Proportion of Total Working Days Lost1 January 2010 - 31 December 201018.4%1 January 2011 - 31 December 201119.3%1 January 2012 - 31 December 201219.1%1 January 2013 - 31 December 201320.2%1 January 2014 - 31 December 201421.5% The figures should not be read as being fully related to stress caused absence and it should also be noted that non-work related stress absences would also be recorded here.  Data for the reporting period 1 January 2015 - 31 December 2015 is due to be released at 9.30 on Thursday 17 March 2016 on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-civilian-sickness-absence-financial-year-201516 Information on how many and what proportion of officials in the Ministry of Defence took sick leave for Mental and Behavioural Disorders in each of the last five years will take time to collate and I will write to the hon. Member when the data is available.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate how much the presence of the UK military in Cyprus contributes annually to the Cypriot economy.

Penny Mordaunt: The estimated economic benefit of British Forces Cyprus and the Sovereign Base Areas Administration to the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) economy was assessed in 2015 to be approximately 1% of RoC Gross Domestic Product.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his North Korean counterpart following that country's claims that it has nuclear warheads capable of being installed on ballistic missiles.

Mr Hugo Swire: We have made clear repeatedly in this House, in the UN Security Council and directly to North Korean Government officials that we condemn any ongoing nuclear activity by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and that such activity is in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) said in his statement on 2 March, North Korea must put a stop to these provocations and take tangible steps to re-engage constructively with the international community. I met a senior visiting DPRK diplomat in December 2015 where I condemned their nuclear programme. I also summoned the DPRK Ambassador on two occasions in January and February where I made clear the British Government’s condemnation of their actions and that these provocations were a deliberate violation of a number of UN Security Council Resolutions.

India: Rape

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart about the case of a 16 year old girl who was raped and set on fire in Greater Nioda on 9 March 2016.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are aware of reports that a young girl was raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh, and that the police have arrested a man in relation to this offence. The UK is committed to tackling violence against women and girls around the world. We work with the Indian Government and civil society organisations to support their efforts to tackle these dreadful and tragic cases.

Tibet: Religious Freedom

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support religious freedom in Tibet.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 29 October 2015 to question 12786.

Falkland Islands: UK Membership of EU

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the Falkland Islands.

Mr Hugo Swire: Ministers and officials have met regularly with the Overseas Territories to brief them on the issues raised by the UK’s renegotiation of its EU membership. The 2015 Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) communiqué acknowledges the interests of the Territories in the forthcoming referendum and recognises the strength and importance of the relationship between the Territories and the EU. It also confirms that the Government will continue to consult the Territories in order for their views on reform to be taken into account. The Government’s position is that the UK and its Overseas Territories will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that UK expatriates living in EU countries are informed of their eligibility to vote in the EU referendum.

Mr David Lidington: The Government is committed to ensuring as many eligible people are registered to vote ahead of the EU Referendum as possible. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office overseas network supported the Electoral Commission's Overseas Voter Registration Day last month - a global campaign to promote voter registration to British citizens abroad by raising awareness amongst overseas voters of their rights to vote through providing information on embassy websites and other activities.I also spoke about voter registration to the English language media in Portugal during my visit to Lisbon on 9 March.The Electoral Commission is organising its own campaign to increase voter registration.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Security Guards

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much security guards in his Department are paid.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) contracts out the guarding of its UK estate to Servest, under the terms of the Crown Commercial Services framework. Servest are responsible for setting the rates of pay for their staff and have informed the FCO that the current minimum rate for Security Officers is £8.69 and the maximum rate is £15.92 per hour.

South China Sea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with his Japanese counterparts on the security situation in the South China Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has held detailed discussions with his Japanese counterpart about the South China Sea, most recently during his visit to Japan in January for our annual UK-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial talks. Following those meetings the UK and Japan released a joint statement setting out our shared concerns about the situation in the South China Sea, calling on all parties to refrain from activities that increase tension and to pursue urgently the settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.

Uganda: Elections

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the conduct and (b) the effect on that country of the outcome of elections in Uganda in February 2016.

James Duddridge: I commend the people of Uganda for turning out in large numbers to cast their vote on 18 February 2016 and for their determination to participate in the electoral process. However, the British Government has raised a series of concerns with the Government of Uganda about the conduct of the elections and the post-election environment. These include serious delays to the opening of polling stations, restrictions on social media access and the continuing harassment and intimidation of members of the opposition and journalists by the Uganda Police Force.These issues were also reflected in the EU and Commonwealth Election Observation Missions’ preliminary statements of 20 February which we fully endorse. I urge the Government of Uganda to comprehensively address all the issues raised in the Election Observation Missions' reports.With international partners we continue to urge all sides to show restraint in the post election period, to abide by the rule of law and to settle election related disputes through the proper legal channels. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Iraq: Kurds

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a partition plan in Iraq relating to independence for Kurdish people.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The question of independence, and its potential merits and drawbacks, is ultimately one for the Kurds and the rest of the people of Iraq, rather than for the UK.We are committed to a stable, united, democratic and prosperous Iraq. We strongly believe that the Kurds have an important role to play in building that future and confronting the threat which Daesh pose to all of Iraq’s communities. The most effective way to combat Daesh will be moderate forces working together to defeat them, including close cooperation between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government.

Syria: Peace Negotiations

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Government support for Kurdish minority groups in Syria on the peace process in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Syrian Kurds, as with all minority groups in Syria, will have an important stake in a future political settlement for their country. It is for Syrians to decide the exact nature of that settlement, with the help and support of the international community and the United Nations. The Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC), which represents a broad cross section of the Syrian opposition, including Kurdish groups, has made clear its intent to enter into political negotiations with the Syrian regime to achieve a political solution to the conflict. Not all Kurdish groups are members of the HNC, or necessarily part of the internationally recognised list of Syrian “opposition” groups. But to be successful, any political settlement in Syria must be inclusive, taking account of the interests of all parties to the conflict.

Nuclear Security Summit

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proposals the UK plans to take to the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC in March and April 2016; and whether he plans to attend that summit.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) will lead the UK delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit on 31 March - 1 April. The UK National Statement and Progress Report will be published on the Summit website at the time of the Summit.

Iran: Guided Weapons

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of the firing of two long-range missiles from the Alborz mountain range by Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Reports that Iran has test launched two long-range missiles are of deep concern. Such activity is inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and we are writing to the UN Security Council to request a report into the tests. We urge Iran to refrain from further tests.

Sudan: Religious Freedom

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Sudan on behalf of Telahoon Rata and Rev. Hassan Taour, arrested on 13 and 21 December 2015 respectively; and what information his Department holds on their (a) location and (b) physical and mental condition.

James Duddridge: Our Ambassador in Khartoum met the Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments and the Sudanese Director of Church Affairs in February and raised the cases of Mr Talahon and Rev. Hassan. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum are in close contact with their legal team. The legal team have informed us that both men are currently being held at a National Intelligence and Security Service’s facility in Khartoum. Mr Talahon’s family has been able to meet him once while Rev. Hassan has not been granted visitors. Rev. Hassan’s family is particularly concerned about his physical health given his history of stomach ulcers. We will continue to scrutinise these cases closely.

United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial contribution his Department has made to each of the 16 UN peacekeeping operations which are underway.

James Duddridge: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the United Kingdom’s assessed financial contributions to 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations. These payments are mandatory under the United Nations Charter. The United Nations apportions the UK’s share of contributions in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolutions that determine the annual budget for each peacekeeping operations and the ‘Scale of Assessments’, which sets every United Nations member state’s percentage share of the United Nations Peacekeeping Budget. At present, the United Kingdom pays 5.8% of the cost of each mission, with the exception of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. These missions are funded from the United Nations Regular Budget, to which the United Kingdom currently contributes 4.5% of costs.The table below provides the total budget and United Kingdom contribution to the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations currently operational for financial year 2015/16:Name of Peacekeeping OperationTotal PKO budget in FY2015/16 (UK contribution) in £ millionsUnited Nations Mission for  the Referendum in Western Sahara38.5 (2.0)United Nations Multidimensional Integrated  Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic571.6 (31.8)United Nations Multidimensional  Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali668.5 (37.5)United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti305.3 (15.5)United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo1001.3 (54.4)African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur812.9 (39.9)United Nations Disengagement Observer Force40.7 (2.2)United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus40.1 (1.2)United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon376.8 (20.9)United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei208.9 (8.7)United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo30.3 (1.4)United Nations Mission in Liberia271.8 (14.1)United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan793.9 (43.0)United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan6.9 (0.3)United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire316.5 (16.2)United Nations Truce Supervision Organization24.6 (1.2)



NAMED DAY PQ 31017 Document
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United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how much and what proportion of the total budget for UN peacekeeping was spent in support of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in each of the last six years.

James Duddridge: The table below sets out how much the UN General Assembly allocated to the gross budget for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for the last six UN budget years (which run from 1 July to 30 June); the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus net budget, following the deduction of voluntary contributions from the Governments of Cyprus and Greece; how much the total UN Peacekeeping Budget was for each year; and the percentage of the UN Peacekeeping Budget allocated to UNFICYP’s gross budget. The UN budgets in US dollars, therefore all the figures below are in that currency.UN budget yearUNFICYP budget (gross)UNFICYP budget (net)Total UN Peacekeeping BudgetPercentage of UN Peacekeeping Budget allocated to UNFICYP’s gross budget2015/1655,139,40031,027,9678,256,758,9000.672014/1562,531,50036,082,2338,510,143,2330.732013/1458,514,20033,332,8667,901,248,3660.742012/1356,968,20032,251,8677,364,983,8500.772011/1260,121,20034,506,9337,835,339,6300.772010/1159,759,20034,304,6087,823,615,6000.76



Table
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Iraq: Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the government of Iraq in re-assimilating newly liberated regions from Daesh/ISIL; what steps the Government is taking to assist Iraq with such assimilation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government of Iraq is committed to stabilising areas which have been liberated from Daesh by providing the governance, services and security necessary to enable the safe return of Iraqis to these areas. The Global Coalition is supporting the Government of Iraq to do this, including by working through the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation. In the last year, UNDP report that these efforts have contributed to the return of 170,000 people to Tikrit, 49,000 people to Al Dour and 15,000 people to Mkeishifa. The UK has supported these efforts by providing £2.5 million to UNDP, deploying stabilisation advisors to UNDP and to the British Embassy in Baghdad, deploying a Communications Advisor to support the Governor of Anbar, and providing £225,000 to United Nations Mine Action Service to establish a coordination unit to assess the scope of explosive threats.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the apprentices employed by his Department in the last 12 months were women.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Apprentices are part of the Civil Service Fasttrack Apprenticeship programme. The programme is managed by Civil Service Resourcing (CSR) who recruit apprentices to the programme and then allocate them to the Department. Recruitment of individual apprentices is not managed by the Department. A total of 18 apprentices were allocated to BIS in the latest recruitment round, out of a total of 684 recommended for appointment. 26% of apprentices allocated to BIS in the last 12 months were female. The figure is 40.6% for apprentices recommended for appointment in the wider apprenticeship programme. CSR have a comprehensive diversity and inclusion outreach programme supporting the Fasttrack Apprenticeship programme. BIS is committed to equal opportunities. 49% of BIS staff are female.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Buildings

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average cost of floor space is at his Department's office at (a) St Paul's Place, Sheffield and (b) 1 Victoria Street, London.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what annual rent his Department paid at (a) 1 Victoria Street, London and (b) St Paul's Place, Sheffield in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 04 March 2016



We have committed to making changes to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by 2020 that will result in a more flexible Department, reduced headcount and far fewer delivery bodies. Our business needs to be designed in a way that works for this smaller workforce and more streamlined structures. To support this direction of travel, we are moving towards seven or so centres by 2020, supported by a regional footprint for those whose work needs to be at a local level. We want each of these centres to focus on a key business activity so that we can bring the relevant expertise together. We are proposing that one of these centres will be a combined BIS headquarters and policy centre in London, close to our Ministers. The average cost of floor space at each of the Department’s offices is:a) £483.64 per sqm at St Paul’s Placeb) £686.20 per sqm at 1 Victoria Street The annual rent paid by BIS over the last 5 years is: Year(a) 1 Victoria Street(b) St Paul’s Place2015-16£11,004,000£209,3042014-15£11,004,000£209,3042013-14£11,004,000£209,3042012-13£11,004,000£209,3042011-12£11,004,000£209,304 By the end of this reform programme in 2020, we will have fewer employees in London and BIS as a whole, and aim to save £350million in operating expenditure overall. The vast majority of employees within the BIS Group will continue to be based outside London.

Apprentices: Standards

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to improve apprenticeship standards among employers.

Nick Boles: We have taken significant steps to improve the quality of apprenticeships. Apprenticeships now must have substantial training; last at least 12 months; and lead to full competency in an occupation.We are going further by giving employers the opportunity to design high quality apprenticeships across a range of occupations to meet their skills needs. More than 1300 employers are involved with 205 new apprenticeships standards already published and more than 150 are in development.The new Institute for Apprenticeships will support improvements in the quality of apprenticeship standards in England. It will be responsible for setting quality criteria for the development of standards and assessment plans, reviewing, approving or rejecting them; and quality assuring some end point assessments.

Construction Industry Training Board: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians on the effect of proposed changes to the budget for training expertise of the Construction Industry Training Board on the future of the construction industry.

Nick Boles: We have received no direct recent representations from the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians. We continue to engage in discussions with the Industry Training Boards on the implications for the construction and engineering construction industry levies of the apprenticeship levy which will be introduced in April 2017.

Trade Promotion: Leeds

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to promote opportunities to access high growth markets abroad to businesses in the Leeds City Region.

Anna Soubry: Increasing exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas. A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of high-growth and emerging markets.This effort to drive economic growth is supported in part by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme, a group of appointed parliamentarians drawn from across the political spectrum. Envoys are carefully selected for their experience, skills and knowledge of particular sectors or markets, or their knowledge of business in an effort to identify substantial trade and investment opportunities. There are now 24 Trade Envoys covering 50 high-growth and emerging markets.In addition, UK Trade and Investment is working on a joint international trade plan with Leeds City Region and other partners which will focus on key international markets, including high growth ones.

Lasers: Sales

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to regulate the power level of laser pens offered for sale in Britain.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Manufacturing Advisory Service

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the winding down of the Manufacturing Advisory Service will have on businesses receiving services from that service.

Anna Soubry: We do not expect the winding down of the Manufacturing Advisory Service will have an impact on businesses receiving services as contractual commitments to existing customers will be honoured, providing all support and related activity is completed by 31 March 2016. Going forward, manufacturers will continue to be able to access expert advice from the private sector from their local Growth Hub.

Public Houses

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure publicans are made aware of the rights and responsibilities outlined in the Pubs Code, which is due to be published in May 2016.

Anna Soubry: The Adjudicator will issue guidance on the Pubs Code. Section 61 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 provides details of the guidance the Adjudicator must and may publish regarding the Pubs Code.

Gratuities: Public Consultation

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25985, whether he plans to publish his response to his Department's consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges before the period of purdah for the EU membership referendum begins.

Nick Boles: The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges and will publish a response in due course.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to answer Question 28906, tabled on 3 March 2016 by the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, on the living wage.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Lasers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) a ban on laser pens and (b) setting a minimum age for the purchase of laser pens; and what steps he is taking to ensure online sales of laser pens are regulated.

Anna Soubry: The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 requires all products that are placed onto the UK market whether bought on-line or in a shop to be safe.The sale and use of laser pointers is an issue that cuts across a number of government departments. Following a cross-Whitehall meeting on 25 February, chaired by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Government has drawn up a plan to tackle these issues to ensure the safety of consumers and the wider public.The Government is looking at a range of options which may include legislative for controlling the sales, use and possession of laser pens.

Parental Leave

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the proportion of (a) mothers and (b) fathers in the labour force who were not able to claim statutory parental leave because of the requirement for 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer in the last 12 months.

Nick Boles: The Shared Parental Leave and Pay system is designed to strike the right balance between giving employees flexibility and giving their employers the certainty that they need to plan.We do not routinely collect information that would enable us to estimate the proportion of (a) mothers and (b) fathers in the labour force who were not able to claim Shared Parental Leave and Pay because of the ‘continuity of employment requirement’.

Sunday Trading

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the proportion of weekend retail transactions which have been conducted on a Sunday over the last three years.

Anna Soubry: On 9 March the Government published an impact assessment on Sunday trading which is available in the libraries of both Houses.

Copyright: Film

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK film industry in each year since May 2010; and if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which that estimate is based.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has made no assessments of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK film industry.

Business: Government Assistance

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in each (a) parliamentary constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) Government Office region received funding under the (i) Enterprise Finance Guarantee, (ii) Working Capital and (iii) British Business Bank in each year during which those schemes have been in existence.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Export Credit Guarantees: Corruption

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on how many occasions the Export Credits Guarantee Department has reported allegations of bribery and corruption to (a) the Serious Fraud Office and (b) other agencies in each of the last six years.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign Investment in UK: EU Countries

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many inward investment projects originating from other EU member states have been established in each region and constituent part of the UK for each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Small Businesses: Closures

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized businesses that have closed in each region of the UK since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: There is no data source that comprehensively measures business closures within the UK. The most relevant statistics available are the number of businesses de-registering for VAT and PAYE. Most of these businesses will have closed but some will still be trading, with turnover below the VAT threshold and without employees. ONS statistics show 1.5 million businesses have registered for VAT or PAYE in the UK between 2010 and 2014, while 1.2 million have deregistered. De-registrations for the English regions and UK countries between 2010 and 2014 are provided below. Number of VAT/PAYE de-registrations by English region and UK country between 2010 and 2014English region or UK countryNumber of businesses de-registering for VAT/PAYE (2010 to 2014)1  North East33,670North West127,305Yorkshire and Humber87,225East Midlands78,690West Midlands96,910East of England118,110London243,750South East186,700South West97,515Wales43,295Scotland76,130Northern Ireland24,680United Kingdom1,213,9801. Source: ONS, Business Demography

Floods: Small Businesses

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent floods on small businesses.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the UK is taking to support the provision of climate risk insurance to people who are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change; and how much funding she plans to allocate to such support.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK is a leader in climate risk insurance and is committed to contributing to meeting the G7 “InsuResilience” collective target set out in the Elmau declaration of helping up to an additional 400 million people in the most vulnerable developing countries to gain access to climate risk insurance by 2020.Recent UK support for the provision of climate risk insurance includes contributions of up to £100m to African Risk Capacity (ARC), up to £15m for the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative, £5m to help developing countries with disaster contingency planning backed by risk finance, £3m of technical support to the Government of the Philippines to help them implement their financial protection and insurance strategy, and £1.4m to support livestock insurance for pastoralists in Kenya.

Sustainable Development: International Assistance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has produced a cross-departmental strategy for the UK to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK Government as a whole is committed to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s manifesto sets out the plan of action for which it will be held accountable by the British people. This includes commitments relevant to each of the Goals, and it will guide our efforts to achieve them. The Global Goals are the starting point for, and will be embedded across, DFID’s work.DFID is the lead Department on the Goals, and will be working with the Cabinet Office across Government to ensure a joined-up approach to implementation. Other Government Departments will lead on their respective policy areas.

Israel: Palestinians

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) fixed and (b) mobile structures funded by her Department in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territory have been (i) demolished and (ii) confiscated by the Israeli authorities in (A) 2015 and (B) 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 17 March to Question number 30955

Israel: Palestinians

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the value of UK-funded structures that were demolished or confiscated in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne: No UK funded structures have been demolished or confiscated in Area C in 2015 or 2016. A number of EU ECHO-funded structures have been demolished in recent months. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 15%.

Overseas Aid

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department's decision making process is on the (a) provision and (b) removal of (i) bilateral and (ii) other aid assistance programmes.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID is undertaking a number of reviews, which aim to look across our portfolio to build the most effective response to deliver the Spending Review, the UK Aid Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review. These include a review of the research portfolio, a Civil Society Partnership Review, a Multilateral Aid Review and a Bilateral Aid Review (BAR). The outcome of these reviews will collectively determine DFID’s approach to delivering the UK Aid Strategy over the period of the Spending Review.

Department for International Development: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of officials of her Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The table below provides the overall sick leave taken by DFID staff, and the proportion of sick leave for reasons related to stress in each of the past three years. Information on 2011/12 and 2012/13 could only be provided at disproportionate cost. PeriodStress Related Absence (Days )Total Sick Leave (Days)Percentage Stress Related Absence against Total Sick LeaveNo of Staff who took Stress Related AbsenceNo of Staff who took Sick LeavePercentage staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absenceMarch 2015 - February 20161485908716.3%6312944.9%April 2014 - March 20151642888918.5%5813674.2%April 2013 - March 20141137842713.5%3911803.3%

Israel: Palestinians

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on how many buildings the construction of which was funded by the (a) UK and (b) EU there are in the (i) Gaza Strip and (ii) other Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID does not hold information on how many EU funded buildings there are in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPTs). There are 13 UK funded schools in Gaza. Currently the UK does not directly fund the construction of buildings in the West Bank. However, we are joining the EU Consortium to support the construction of small-scale infrastructure in Area C.

Department for Education

Schools: Admissions

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional places needed in (a) primary and (b) secondary education in England as a result of immigration from (i) EU and (ii) non-EU member states in each of the next five years; and what estimate she has made of the cost of providing such places.

Edward Timpson: Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. The basic need capital funding we allocate to local authorities to create new school places is based on their own data on school capacity and future pupil forecasts. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation. The Government has committed to investing £7 billion in new school places up to 2021, which, when added to our investment in the free schools programme, will help to create 600,000 new places.

Department for Education: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2016 to Question 28606, how many cleaners working in buildings managed by her Department are paid at the rate of (a) £7.85 and (b) £9.15.

Nick Gibb: The number of cleaners working in buildings managed by the Department for Education paid at the rate of (a) £7.85 is 24, and (b) £9.15 is 23. This reflects the location of the contractor/staff.From 1 April 2016, the rates will be increased to reflect the 2016 Living Wage Foundation rates.

Pre-school Education: Admissions

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to make the entitlement to an early education place a legal requirement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: English local authorities have a statutory duty under section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006 to secure a free early education place of 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year for all three- and four-year-olds and two-year-olds who meet the eligibility criteria. The early education entitlement is not a legal requirement for parents, and we know that the current model is extremely successful, with 99% of four-year-olds and 94% of three-year-olds taking up a place. And, Based on survey data collected from local authorities in the autumn of 2015 it is estimated that 182,000 two-year-olds - around 72% of eligible children - have taken up a place on the two-year-old programme.The Secretary of State has a statutory duty under the Childcare Act 2016 to secure an additional 15 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year for working parents of three- and four-year-olds.The Secretary of State will discharge the duty in clause 2 of the Childcare Act, the duty to secure 30 hours of free childcare for working parents, through all local authorities in England. Local authorities will, therefore, be required to secure childcare provision free of charge to qualifying children.

Schools: Police

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many police officers are employed by schools on a (a) full-time and (b) part-time basis.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to evaluate the effect of the introduction of education, health and care plans.

Edward Timpson: The department will draw on evidence from a wide range of sources to determine whether the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provisions of the Children and Families Act have improved outcomes for children with SEND. The department published details in March 2015 of our intention to use a combination of local accountability measures, data and analysis and independent inspection to evaluate how the SEND system is performing, which parts are working well and whether outcomes are improving for children and young people. The publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416347/Accountability_Publication.pdf In May, Ofsted and CQC will begin inspecting local area effectiveness in meeting their responsibilities towards children and young people who are disabled and/or have special educational needs. Inspections will include education, health and care plans. We will draw on a wide range of statistics on pupils with SEND, including information on educational attainment, absence and exclusions and research into families and young people’s experience of the new system. Statistics on pupils with SEND can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen

Schools: Inspections

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times HM Chief Inspector of Schools has visited a school in each year since 2012.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Free School Meals: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are eligible for free school meals in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in schools in Lancashire local authority and Burnley constituency are as follows[1]: Lancashire Local AuthorityBurnley ConstituencyState-Funded Primary Schools14,269 (14.4%)1,811 (22.5%)State-Funded Secondary Schools8,174 (12.4%)1,032 (21.8%)State-Funded Special Schools912 (37.3%)121 (49.4%)Pupil Referral Units205 (46.7%)32 (55.2%)Total23,560 (13.5%)2,996 (21.4%)[1] Figures as at January 2015, Source: school census.

Schools: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30215, how much has been allocated by local authorities to primary and secondary schools in the form of top-up funding for pupils with SEN in each academic year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Local authorities (LAs) spending on education is reported through S251 financial returns on a financial year basis. Prior to 2013-14 data covering spend on top-up funding for SEN was not collected as top-up funding was introduced in April 2013.Links are provided below to each of the three available financial years of S251 budget data. Top-up funding for mainstream schools can be found in the High Needs section in each year.Budget 2015-16https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/462955/Budget_summary_level__2015_to_2016.odsBudget 2014-15https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/357719/Budget_summary_level_2014_to_2015.odsBudget 2013-14https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/280926/budget_summary_2013-14.xlsxThe Department publishes this data as part of the S251 financial collections on the GOV.UK website, usually in the following September for budget allocations.

Teachers: Vacancies

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teacher vacancies there were in each English region in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The following table shows the vacancy rate for full-time teacher posts in state funded nursery and primary schools, secondary schools, and all schools within each English region in November 2014, the latest information available. Vacancy Rate for State Funded Primary[1][2]Vacancy Rate for State Funded Secondary[3]Vacancy rate for all State Funded SchoolsNorth East0.0%0.2%0.1%North West0.1%0.1%0.1%Yorkshire and The Humber0.3%0.3%0.3%East Midlands0.2%0.2%0.2%West Midlands0.3%0.2%0.2%East of England0.2%0.2%0.2%Inner London0.3%0.3%0.3%Outer London0.2%0.3%0.2%South East0.2%0.3%0.3%South West[4]......England 0.2%0.3%0.3% [1] Includes local authority maintained nursery schools.[2] Advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one term’s duration). Includes vacancies being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term.[3] Advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one term’s duration). Includes vacancies being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term.[4] Data are not available, some schools in the South West misunderstood the School Workforce Census data requirements and provided incorrect data.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government has paid in compensation claims for injuries while in custody in the last two years.

Andrew Selous: From 2005 to 2010 approximately £7.69m was paid in compensation to prisoners as a result of injuries sustained whilst in custody. In 2010 to 2015 this fell by 21.1% to £6.07m, with £0.68m paid in 2013/14 and £1.2m in 2014/15 respectively. NOMS robustly defend all claims brought and successfully defended two thirds of total claims brought by prisoners. An audit of all concluded personal injury claims submitted to the Prison Service over the course of a year is underway as part of a drive to identify opportunities to cut payouts and legal costs. The data relates to claims cases settled out of Court and those lost at Court. It is drawn from information available on a National Offender Management Service database. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible error in data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Knives

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in (a) how many and (b) what proportion of cases of 16 and 17 year olds being convicted of committing a second knife offence the perpetrator received the mandatory four months Detention and Training Order during the quarter ending 31 December 2015.

Andrew Selous: The proportion of 16 to 17 year old offenders who were found to have been convicted of committing a second knife offence and received the mandatory four months Detention and Training Order during the period 17 July to 31 December 2015 is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-october-to-december-2015Any decisions and assessments taken regarding the minimum mandatory penalty are made solely by the courts. Whilst the 4 month DTO is the minimum custodial term available for 16 to 17 year old offenders, the courts also have the power to set aside the minimum term in the event of a guilty plea and/or if time has been served in custody on remand or on a tag. A decision by the courts to reduce the minimum term will result in a community penalty.The published figures will change when the outcomes of cases passing through the criminal justice system become available on the Police National Computer. On average it takes 86 days from charging an offender for a knife possession offence to the offender receiving the court outcome. Data for the next quarter is due to be published on 9 June 2016.

UK Membership of EU: Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if in the event of the UK leaving the EU he will consult the Crown Dependencies on their relationship with the EU and work to ensure their preferences are represented during the renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has made to ensure that the principles of Protocol 3 of the 1972 Accession Treaty are not affected by the UK leaving the EU.

Dominic Raab: The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man enjoy special arrangements for access to the EU, through UK membership. At the February European Council, the Government successfully negotiated a new settlement for the United Kingdom. The Government's position was set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February.

Family Courts: Domestic Violence

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27240, on family courts: domestic violence, when his Department last reviewed the security standards referred to in that Answer.

Caroline Dinenage: Family Courts are subject to Security Standards, which provide a framework for security measures at each individual court. Security standards are under continual review by each local court. In practice this comprises each court undertaking reviews of all significant incidents trends/lessons learned, findings from risk assessments, engagement with inter-agency partners, feedback following complaints and regular local inspections. This is to ensure adequate protection measures are in place to protect court users.

Family Proceedings: Witnesses

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many witnesses have been cross-examined in a family court by the alleged perpetrator of abuse against them who is acting as litigant in person in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: This information is not held centrally.

Terrorism: Hyde Park

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30414, on terrorism; Hyde Park, if the Secretary of State for Justice will support the Hyde Park victims by providing financial assistance outwith the Legal Aid Agency process.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government’s sympathies are with the victims and friends and families of those who lost their lives and were injured in this terrible attack. As I said in my answer of 14 March to Parliamentary Question 30414, decisions on funding individual cases are taken independently by the Legal Aid Agency. The decision not to provide legal aid funding for this claim for damages was made as it does not meet the criteria set by Parliament. Ministers are prevented by law from intervening in the individual decisions of the Legal Aid Agency. The legal aid scheme sets out the extent of the circumstances in which Parliament has decided it is appropriate for the taxpayer to fund litigation. The Government has no current plans to change arrangements for funding in damages cases or provide alternative funding to meet litigation costs.

Ministry of Justice: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mike Penning: The tables below set out the information you have requested on sickness absence taken by officials in the Ministry of Justice relating to stress for each year in which figures are currently available. Data prior to 2011 is not available as this information is not held centrally.  Total Number of staff Sick with StressProportion of staff off with Stress2014-20152,5933%2013-20142,3443%2012-20132,0433%2011-20122,2213%  Proportion of Sick Days due to Stress2014-201515%2013-201413%2012-201311%2011-201210% The information includes staff within Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, Office of the Public Guardian and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for all four years. Staff within Legal Aid Agency are included from 2013 and UK Supreme Court is in scope for 2011-2012. As a department we are actively managing attendance in order to reduce the number of days lost due to sickness. A large proportion of staff absence is within the Prison Service and the challenges they face do not bear a direct comparison with the working conditions of most civil servants. They perform a difficult, physical and sometimes dangerous job.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Correspondence

Tim Farron: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will respond to the open letter from the Yorkshire Post entitled Mr Cameron please don't ignore our nightmare, dated Tuesday 26 January 2016.

Mr David Cameron: A reply will be sent shortly.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Security Guards

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much security guards in his Department are paid.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS shares premises with other Government Departments - HMRC and DfE - that are responsible for the employment and payment of security staff.

Film and Television: Equality

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28851, what assessment he has made of the potential benefit to international sales of British content of the commissioning of content with diverse voices.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government remains committed to diversity in the film and television industries. Viewers at home and abroad want to see their culture and diversity represented on television. The Government recognises the important contribution it makes to the overall success of international sales and revenue, which came to more than £2 billion in 2014.

European Capital of Culture

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to support UK cities considering a bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2023.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The UK's selection competition for the title of 2023 European Capital of Culture is due to be launched before the end of 2016. The DCMS will consider how best to support potential bidders over the coming months.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what factors he took into account when setting the new state pension age cut-off date.

Justin Tomlinson: The 2011 Green Paper “A state pension for the 21st century” set out the Government’s vision for a simpler state pension and proposed the new State Pension should start from April 2016. The 2013 White Paper “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving” which set out proposals for the new State Pension in more detail proposed that it should be introduced in April 2017 at the earliest. However, having noted the positive responses to the White Paper, the Government looked again at whether it would be possible to introduce the reform earlier. The Government decided to return to the original timetable to deliver the reform as soon as possible, to support the roll-out of automatic enrolment and provide certainty concerning the changes for both individuals and their pension schemes at the earliest opportunity. The decision to return to the original implementation date also meant that around 400,000 more people would reach State Pension age under the new State Pension, including every woman affected by State Pension age changes in the Pensions Act 2011.

Incapacity Benefit: Appeals

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount his Department has spent on re-assessing incapacity benefit claimants who successfully appeal against a finding of non-qualification in each year since 2010.

Priti Patel: We do not hold specific information on the cost of Incapacity Benefit reassessments (IBR) overturned at appeal, as assessment contracts cover all types of assessment, not just IBRs.

Social Security Benefits

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on short-term benefit advances in the last 12 months; how much was spent by each jobcentre last year; and how much was spent in the last year of the crisis loan scheme.

Priti Patel: Data is not held by individual Jobcentres. Regional data which is the lowest level data available is provided in the table below for the value of awards paid for Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) from April 15 to February 16. National£5,368,526Central England£835,137London & the Home Counties£1,353,691North East England£777,410North West England£863,664Northern Ireland£2,917Scotland£784,848Southern England£413,869Wales£336,989 National data for the final year of the Crisis Loans scheme can be found in Annex 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report 2012/13 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209379/DWP_Annual_Report_on_the_Social_fund.pdf As Crisis Loans were administered via a national telephone based service this information is not held at Jobcentre level. Notes: The reporting period provided for STBAs is the current financial year. Only Working Age Benefits (i.e. ESA, IB, JSA and IS) are included in the above information for benefit advance applications as the number of applications received for State Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance is not available. STBA data is not routinely published but the Department has agreed that this information can be used in PQ and FOI responses. Source: Benefit Expenditure Business Information (BexBI).The information in BexBI is sourced from the combined payment and accounting tool, Central Payment System (CPS).

Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his Department's policy to accept data protection forms relating to queries arising from hon. Members' casework by email.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP current email policy states “this policy does not change existing rules on communications with Members of Parliament (MPs) and when responding to customer complaints (handled by the Independent Case Examiner) where the MP or complainant has requested a response by email”.A Member is the data controller for all personal data handled by their own office and must be registered with the Information Commissioners Office in accordance with the following guidance. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/advice-for-members-offices.pdf

Universal Credit: Payments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30251, how many universal credit claimants have (a) applied for a back payment of more than one month, (b) received a back payment of more than one month and (c) received a back payment of one month.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30251, how much expenditure has been incurred on back payments to universal credit claimants; and how much additional expenditure would have been incurred had back payments been allowed to exceed one month.

Priti Patel: The information is not centrally collated to this level of detail.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what scope there is for new claimants of universal credit to negotiate the terms of their claimant commitment.

Priti Patel: A personalised Claimant Commitment is drawn up by the Work Coach as part of a one to one discussion with the claimant. The work-related requirements detailed in the Claimant Commitment are tailored to an individual’s needs, experience and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable. It is reviewed with the claimant and revised where appropriate on an on-going basis.

Children: Poverty

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the minimum income floor on levels of relative child poverty.

Priti Patel: The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. The objective of the Minimum Income Floor is to incentivise work and thereby raise the incomes of families and reduce dependency on benefits. Work remains the best route out of poverty and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the legacy system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.

Children: Poverty

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of universal credit on the number of children in relative poverty.

Priti Patel: The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the current system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.

Vocational Guidance: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, at which schools in East London Jobcentre Plus plans to offer Support for Schools in the 2015-16 academic year.

Priti Patel: Jobcentre Plus Support will be demand led and focused on those schools in the most disadvantaged areas of East London. In conjunction with the Careers & Enterprise Company JCP are considering which schools will be offered support. Details will be announced in due course.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average time taken to provide reimbursement when a benefit sanction is overturned by appeal in the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Security Guards

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much security guards in her Department are paid.

George Eustice: Security guard services for Defra are subcontracted under the facilities contract with Interserve FM. Rates for security guards vary dependent on location, market rates and shift patterns. The current spectrum is between £7.25 and £8.18 per hour.

Whisky: Scotland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote the export of Scotch whisky.

George Eustice: We are committed to increasing and promoting sales of our excellent food and drink here and overseas. This is why we have launched the Great British Food Campaign, created a new Great British Food Unit and designated 2016 “The year of Great British Food.” Scotch whisky is a phenomenal global success. In 2014 exports were worth £3.95 billion* representing 21% of total UK food and drink exports. We are working with the industry to boost exports by developing a new Exports Action Plan, taking every opportunity to promote our products overseas and working hard to secure a global liberalised market for all our spirit drinks. *Source: Scotch Whisky Association

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean time was between application for payment and receipt of payment of the (a) Basic Farm Payment and (b) Single Farm Payment to individual farms in Kent in the financial year 2014-15.

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean time taken was between application for payment and receipt of the (a) Basic Farm Payment and (b) Single Farm Payment to individual farms in the UK in the financial year 2014-15.

George Eustice: We do not hold information on mean time taken between the application for payment and a receipt of payment for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Single Payment Scheme in England. Like-for-like comparisons cannot be made as the scheme rules and consequent administrative checks are different. As of 10 March 90.5% of farmers (1,661 of 1,835) in Kent had been paid their BPS claim.

Water: EU Law

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of rivers, lakes, coastal and ground waters in the UK that (a) are compliant with the EU Water Framework Directive and (b) will be so compliant by 2020; and when she expects all UK waters to achieve good status.

Rory Stewart: The principle environmental objective of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to protect and enhance all bodies of surface and groundwater so as to prevent deterioration, with the aim of achieving good status for all water bodies by December 2015. The WFD provides exemptions which allow the deadline to be extended to 2021 or 2027 and, in some cases, a less stringent objective to be set, for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility. Implementation of the WFD in the UK is a devolved matter. In England, 19% of water bodies are currently good status or better, 22% are predicted to achieve good status or better by 2021, and 75% of all water bodies have an objective of good or better status. The breakdown by water category is detailed in the table below.  % water bodies at good or better now% water bodies predicted to be achieve good by 2021% water bodies with an objective of good or better Rivers172074Lakes161980Coastal444871Transitional (estuarine)212558Groundwater424872All waters192275

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to put in place a blue belt to protect marine habitats and species.

George Eustice: Since 2013, we have designated 50 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which protect a range of habitats and species. A third tranche of MCZs will be designated in 2018. We are currently undertaking work to identify a complete network of Special Protection Areas for seabirds, and consulting on five Special Areas of Conservation for harbour porpoise. Over 17% of UK waters and almost a third of English inshore waters are now within Marine Protected Areas.

Pollinators: Conservation

Marcus Fysh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the contribution of farmers and landowners to supporting bees and pollinators.

George Eustice: Farmers and other land managers make a vital contribution to supporting pollinators through management and creation of beneficial habitat features. This is reflected in Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy implementation plan. Well over one thousand applications for the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which funds environmentally beneficial land management, contained the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. As part of our monitoring and evaluation programme, we will assess the effectiveness of the Scheme in supporting bees and other pollinators.

Home Office

Asylum: Deportation

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many removals from the UK under the Dublin Regulation there were in each year since 2005; and what information the Government holds on the number of such removals from other EU countries in each of those years.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 05 January 2016



The number of people transferred under the Dublin Convention and the later Dublin II and Dublin III Regulations, is shown in the following table: Year of Return20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015Total18901670117012801,030115098074080052053011760The UK Government does not centrally hold the number of Dublin removals from other EU countries as the data is collected by Eurostat and is available at:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/databaseThe figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Asylum: Deportation

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20287, when she plans to give a substantive answer to that question.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 25 January 2016



I refer the Honourable Member to the response I gave on 17 March 2016.

Immigration

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people applied to have their circumstances changed to give them recourse to public funds in the last quarter; and what proportion of such applications were successful in (a) the first quarter of 2016 and (b) the second quarter of 2015.

James Brokenshire: Data for Q1 2016 is not yet available. However, in the last quarter for which statistics are publicly available (October - December 2015), 765 people applied to have their circumstances changed to give them recourse to public funds and of these 3.9% were successful, however a significant proportion of these cases are pending their final decision and as such the final proportion may be higher.In Q2 2015 (April – June 2015), 750 people applied to have their circumstances changed to give them recourse to public funds. 735 of those applications had been concluded by the end of the publicly available statistics and 270 had been successful, which equates to a proportion of 36.7%.

Deportation: Vietnam

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were removed to Vietnam in each year between 2007 and 2015.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 11 March 2016



Home Office records indicate that the number of former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children removed to Vietnam between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2015, is as shown in the following table: YearTotal Removed to Vietnam2007302008302009202010102011Less than 102012Less than 102013Less than 102014Less than 102015Less than 10 Note: This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics. Number of removals to Vietnam have been rounded to the nearest ten.Removal of former unaccompanied asylum seeking children will only take place after their asylum claim has been finally determined, including any appeal hearing, and it has been established that there is no risk of persecution, or of a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, upon return to their Home Country. After a former unaccompanied asylum seeking child is over eighteen years of age, and found not to be at risk upon return to their home country, their removal will be managed in line with our usual arrangements for the safe and secure return of failed asylum seekers who do not leave the UK voluntarily.

Counter-terrorism

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Prevent strategy.

Mr John Hayes: As part of the Prevent Strategy we have trained over 450,000 frontline workers in spotting signs of radicalisation. In Channel, hundreds of people have been successfully provided with support. 130 community based projects were delivered in 2015, up from 70 in 2014, reaching over 25,300 participants. Our local coordinator network has dramatically increased its reach, working with over 2,790 different institutions and engaging nearly 50,000 individuals over the course of 2015.Following referrals from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit, social media providers removed 58,000 pieces of illegal terrorist material in 2015, compared with 46,000 in 2014. This brings the total to 140,000 since February 2010 when the police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was set up.We report on Prevent delivery annually through the CONTEST Annual report. The next report will be published shortly.

Visas

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many initially rejected visa applications have been reconsidered as a result of changes in circumstances during the assessment process.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

Counter-terrorism

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals were received by the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit in each of the last five years; how many of those referrals were investigated by that unit in full; how many of those investigations led to a recommendation being made for web content to be removed; and on how many occasions web content was removed following such a recommendation.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total (a) budget and (b) full-time equivalent workforce was of the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit in each of the last five years.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 17 March 2016



The Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) receive referrals from a number of sources including the public and law enforcement partners. The unit also self-generates referrals.All referrals are assessed by CTIRU against UK terrorism legislation (Terrorism Act 2000 and 2006). Those that breach this legislation are referred to industry for removal. If industry agrees that it breaches their terms and conditions, they remove it voluntarily.Referrals made to industry by CTIRU have led to over 150,000 pieces of terrorist-related material being removed to date from various online platforms. Overall, removals at the request of CTIRU have increased from around 60 items a month in 2010, when CTIRU was first established, to over 4000 a month in 2015.For reasons of national security we do not publically disclose the detailed allocation of funding for counter terrorism by capability.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for production of the new violence against women and girls strategy.

Karen Bradley: The Government published a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy on 8 March setting out an ambitious programme to make tackling VAWG everybody’s business, ensure victims and survivors get the support they need and inspire confidence in the Criminal Justice System to bring more perpetrators to justice as well as doing more to rehabilitate offenders.The strategy committed £80 million between 2016 and 2020 to protect women and girls from violence. This increased funding will help to deliver our goal to work with local commissioners to deliver a secure future for rape support centres, refuges and FGM and Forced Marriage Units, whilst driving a major change across all services which promotes early intervention and prevention.

HM Treasury

Social Security Benefits: Children

Mrs Anne Main: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in (a) child tax credits and (b) child benefit for children within the European Economic Area outside the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of such payments of proposed reforms to the payment of those benefits to such children under the terms of the renegotiation proposed by the European Council.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many migrants residing in the UK claim benefits on behalf of children living abroad; and what the value is of such claims by country of residence of the child.

Damian Hinds: The information is not available in the form requested.The Government’s new settlement means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system. Meanwhile, Child Tax Credit is being phased out, and we do not have to pay the new Universal Credit for children living in other countries. That means as Universal Credit is fully rolled out, the only benefit we will pay for children living in other Member States will be the indexed rate of Child Benefit.

Taxation

Margaret Hodge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure independent assurance of large tax settlements at HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr David Gauke: In February 2012, changes were announced to HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) tax dispute governance arrangements to provide greater assurance and transparency. One of the key changes was the appointment of a Tax Assurance Commissioner (TAC) who has an explicit challenge role in decision making on cases. The TAC plays no part in discussions with taxpayers on their tax liabilities and has no line management responsibilities for case-workers. In February 2015 the National Audit Office reported: “HMRC has responded effectively to our and the [Public Accounts] Committee’s criticism about the way it governs large tax disputes. The appointment of a tax assurance commissioner and the publication of his annual reports are welcome changes that have significantly improved public confidence in how HMRC deals with large companies.”

Transport: Finance

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase funding for local roads and Government support for local bus services.

Greg Hands: The government set out its plans for funding for local roads and bus services in England, in the Spending Review 2015. Funding for these matters is devolved in Scotland. The government is providing nearly £5 billion of funding for local roads maintenance in England during this Spending Review period, a £300 million increase compared to the previous Parliament. This is in addition to a planned £15 billion upgrade to England’s motorways and major A roads, the largest investment in a generation. On buses, the government provided £250 million last year to bus operators in England through the Bus Service Operators Grant, and has committed to continue providing this support. And we remain committed to funding almost £1 billion of local authority spending on the concessionary travel entitlement every year.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Tom Brake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the proportion of total duty paid on alcohol in the EU that is paid by people in the UK.

Damian Hinds: HM Treasury has made no such estimate.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to the Secretary of State for Defence on the potential implications of the application of the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849, to senior military officers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential implications of the application of the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849, to judges; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the potential implications of the application of the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849, to senior office-holders in local government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to the Home Secretary on the potential implications of the application of the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849, to senior police officers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to the Cabinet Office on the potential implications of the application of the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849, to senior civil servants; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. We will be setting out this view in our consultation which will be published shortly. This change should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. I regularly raise these issues with financial institutions and the regulator and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Mr David Burrowes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the reasons are for the difference between the duty imposed on cider with alcohol content of 7.5 per cent and beer with a similar alcohol content.

Damian Hinds: There are higher duty rates on both beer and cider above 7.5 per cent alcohol by volume compared to standard strength beers and ciders. This is to encourage the production and consumption of lower strength products. The Chancellor keeps all duty rates under review as part of the Budget process.

Taxation: Domicil

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 29027, how many people currently have non-domicile tax status.

Mr David Gauke: For the 2013-14 tax year (the latest tax year for which information is available), there were 118,000 non-domiciled individuals who completed a Self-Assessment return (rounded to the nearest 100).

Employee Ownership

Gareth Thomas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on employee ownership schemes of the decision by HM Revenue and Customs to withdraw its valuation check service; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: It is not anticipated that HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) withdrawal of some valuation services will impact the take up of employee ownership schemes. HMRC has announced the withdrawal of income tax and PAYE post-transaction valuation checks, but has not withdrawn those valuation services that are most relevant to employee ownership schemes. These consist of: Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI),Company Share Option Plans (CSOP),Save As You Earn share option schemes (SAYE),Share Incentive Plans (SIP) andEmployee Shareholder Status (ESS). HMRC has, however, announced a review of the valuation services for those schemes and is consulting interested parties. Most people submit acceptable valuations in respect of these schemes, and HMRC is therefore considering whether the valuation service offered continues to be needed.

Iran: Freezing of Assets

Robert Jenrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timetable the Government has set for the release of sanctioned Iranian assets; and what value of assets the Government expects to release in 2016 and 2017.

Robert Jenrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of sanctioned Iranian assets that have been released by (a) UK Government and (b) other UK entities since the conclusion of the agreement with that country in May 2015.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer my Honourable friend to the written answer I gave on 10 March 2016 (Ref: 29924).

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Coal Fired Power Stations: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will ask her Chinese and Japanese counterparts to supply the Government with cost data relating to their new ultra super-critical coal-fired power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: Cost data relating to new ultra super-critical coal fired power stations in Japan and China are likely to be commercially sensitive to those directly involved. Whilst super-critical power stations are more efficient than earlier technologies, coal remains the most carbon intensive source of electricity generation.

Energy: EU Action

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which Minister in her Department is planned will lead work on Energy Union negotiations with other EU member states and the European Commission.

Amber Rudd: I shall continue to take the overall lead on negotiations on all DECC issues in the EU.

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many and what proportion of officials of her Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Andrea Leadsom: The number of individuals who have been absent from work for reasons relating to stress or anxiety, the proportion of officials and the proportion of total sick leave taken for those reasons in each of the last years can be found in the attached table.   



individuals - stress and anxiety 
(Word Document, 13.37 KB)

Northern Ireland Office

Immunity Certificates: Northern Ireland

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many public interest immunity applications her Department has (a) received and (b) approved in the last five years.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the level of homelessness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Since 2010 we have enabled local authorities to help prevent or relieve over one million cases of homelessness. But one person without a home is one too many. So we have increased central funding for homelessness to £139 million over the next four years, and protected the homelessness prevention funding to councils amounting to £315 million by 2020.Statistics for each of the last five years on statutory homelessness acceptances, homelessness prevention and relief and rough sleeping are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many officials of his Department are working full-time on strategies to tackle homelessness; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department takes a flexible approach to deploying officials across priorities. We continuously keep this under review to ensure that we are providing the best possible response to critical policy areas.

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many of which (a) age (b) sex and (c) nationality were homeless in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Statistics on statutory homelessness acceptances for the last 12 months are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessnessTable 780 gives information on household type, table 781 gives information on the age of applicants, and tables 785 and 786 give details on applications from foreign nationals.

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on reducing homelessness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Since 2010 we have invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support those vulnerable and at risk of homelessness.One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.We also announced in the Budget £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

Department of Health

Health Services: Social Enterprises

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is developing a plan to enhance the role of social enterprises in delivering healthcare services.

Ben Gummer: The Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. That is why, working in partnership with Public Health England, NHS England and representatives from the voluntary sector, the Department is in the final stages of a review looking at partnerships and investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The final report of the review is expected to be published in the spring.

Accident and Emergency Departments: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of other EU member states have used accident and emergency services in each of the last 10 years.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of other EU member states have used NHS maternity services in each of the last 10 years.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of other EU member states have received acute care at hospital trusts in each of the last 10 years.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not hold this information.

General Practitioners: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of other EU member states registered with a GP in each of the last 10 years.

Alistair Burt: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Tobacco: EU Law

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) minimum pack-size requirements and (b) other elements of the new Tobacco Products Directive.

Jane Ellison: An assessment estimating the impact of the provisions introduced by the revised Tobacco Products Directive on business, including minimum pack size requirements, was published alongside a public consultation on transposition of the Directive in summer last year. A final impact assessment, reflecting the outcome of the consultation, will be published alongside the implementing Regulations.

General Social Care Council

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse was of closing down the General Social Care Council.

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was of transferring the services previously provided by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council after the GSCC was abolished in 2012.

Alistair Burt: The function for the regulation of social workers in England was transferred from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 August 2012.The final set of accounts from the GSCC show that the total cost to the public purse of closing down the Council was £16.5 million. The HCPC also received £1.4 million to support it take on the functions for the regulation of social workers in England. Therefore, the total cost was £17.9 million.On the assumption that the costs of the GSCC remained broadly similar, the Department estimated that the closure of the GSCC saves £13.5 million each year.

College of Social Work

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse was of winding up the College of Social Work.

Alistair Burt: The Government agreed to make a grant payment of £225,000 to the College of Social Work for the 2015-16 financial year, to enable completion of existing projects and provide an orderly transfer of functions and resources to other organisations by September 2015.

Pharmacy: Greater London

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2016 to Question 29770, how much funding for (a) service fees and (b) allowances NHS England allocated to community pharmacies in (i) London and (ii) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in (A) 2015-16 and (B) 2016-17.

Alistair Burt: Payments made by NHS England to community pharmacies in its London region in respect of essential and advanced services in 2014-15 totalled £258,069,000. For the period April to December 2015, these payments totalled £192,497,000. Information at constituency level and for the financial year 2016-17 is not available.

Respite Care

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of emergency respite places for people being cared for by family or friends in (a) England, (b) Birmingham and (c) Swindon.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of respite care and support for family carers.

Alistair Burt: The Short and Long Term (SALT) Care data collection for 2014-15 show the number of cared-for people receiving respite or other forms of carer support; (a) England – 55,735(b) Birmingham local authority area – 635(c) Swindon local authority area – 160 The data include other forms of support as well as emergency respite places; a precise figure for emergency respite places is not available. We are working with councils to improve data in this area for future iterations of the SALT Care data collection. The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support. These assessments cover carers’ wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these improved carers’ rights in 2015/16. We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The equivalent annual allocation of £130 million for carers breaks is now included in the Better Care Fund. The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.

Stem Cells: Transplant Surgery

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2016 to Question 28967, on stem cells: transplant surgery, which five transplant centres were found to be non-compliant with the NHS England specification.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that three of those five services are now compliant. Two services, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplant service and Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust Bone Marrow Transplant, are still awaiting accreditation confirmation from the Joint Accreditation Committee International Society for Cellular Therapy & European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE). Confirmation of compliance is expected no later than December 2016 in line with the JACIE assessment programme. In the meantime, commissioners have been assured that the services are safe to continue to treat patients.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to Answer the letter to him dated 2 January 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr S Galsworthy.

Alistair Burt: The Department received a letter from the Rt. hon. Member with regard to Mr S Galsworthy dated 27 January 2016. I responded on 19 February 2016.

Microcephaly

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specialist support is available through the NHS for children with microcephaly and their families; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children were diagnosed with microcephaly in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Minister for Public Heath will meet representatives of (a) Public Health England and (b) NHS England to discuss services for families that have children with microcephaly.

Jane Ellison: NHS England does not collect this data centrally. Patients with microcephaly will be looked after initially by neonatologists then as they grow, paediatric neurologists as necessary, with input from community-based and neurodisability services as appropriate. Treatment will be provided in accordance with the Service Specification for paediatric neurodisability which can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurodisability.pdf I receive regular updates from Departmental officials on Zika and microphaly, with imput from Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England. The Department, PHE and NHS Egnalnd work closely together and will meet to discuss issues, including services for families who have children with microcephaly, as appropriate.

Respite Care

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average number of hours of weekly respite or support family carers are able to access; and what targets his Department has for such provision.

Alistair Burt: We do not hold information on the average number of hours of weekly respite for carers. We are working with councils to improve data in this area for future iterations of the Short and Long Term Care data collection, including on respite care (also known as replacement care).The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support that will look at a carer’s wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role, including replacement care where appropriate. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015-16.We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The equivalent annual allocation of £130 million for carers breaks is now included in the Better Care Fund.The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with mental health charities on the potential effect of the removal of mental health quality premium measures in NHS England's Quality Premium Guidance 2016-17 on mental health outcomes.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the removal of mental health quality premium measures in NHS England's Quality Premium Guidance 2016-17 on mental health outcomes.

Alistair Burt: The 2016/17 Quality Premium (QP) scheme has been designed to support the delivery of the major priorities for the National Health Service, as set out in the Five Year Forward View and in the NHS Mandate. The QP scheme is reviewed annually, with the intention of having a range of high impact measures addressing a range of priorities across the Five Year Forward View. However, there is scope for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to focus on mental health, if this is a local priority area in 2016/17. Each CCG is expected to select three local indicators from a menu of suitable measures aligned to the Right Care programme, which sets out a clinically led methodology for improvement and reducing variation in care. This menu includes 17 mental health indicators. The QP scheme is a part of NHS England’s wider incentive system, including the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme, which includes an incentive focussing on improving the physical health for patients with severe mental illness. As the QP will be retaining mental health as an indicator there has been no new assessment of the effect of removing. While there have not yet been any formal meetings with mental health charities about this, following the Mental Health Taskforce report, NHS England are keen to work with stakeholders-including mental health charities- to develop a new and robust mental health indicator for potential inclusion in the 2017/18 QP. This will align with the additional funding to drive improvements in ‘Improved Access to Psychological Therapies’ access from April 2017.

NHS Trusts: Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the forecast deficit or surplus run for each NHS trust in each of the (a) last and (b) next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority, together as NHS Improvement the new regulator for National Health Service providers, published the latest 2015-16 forecast surplus and deficit position for the sector in the “Performance of the NHS provider sector as at 31 December 2015-16” report, in February. A copy can be found on Monitor’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-providers-quarterly-performance-report-quarter-3-201516 The NHS’s own plan for the next five years is set out in the “Five Year Forward View” published in October 2014-15. A copy can be found on NHS England’s website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf To support this, and to set out the steps to help local organisations to deliver a sustainable, transformed health service, the leading national health and care bodies in England have come together to publish shared planning guidance for the NHS - “Delivering the Forward View: NHS planning guidance 2016/17 – 2020/21”. A copy can be found via the website link below. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/delivering-the-forward-view-nhs-planning-guidance-for-201617-to-202021

Social Services: Finance

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of local authorities that will exercise their right to levy the two per cent social care tax precept; and what assessment he has made of whether the revenue so raised will be sufficient to cover the funding gap for adult social care.

Alistair Burt: It is the decision of local councils whether to raise the adult social care precept in order to pay for adult social care in their local area. The precept gives local areas who are best placed to respond to local needs and pressures the flexibility to be able to do so. There will be a statistical release showing the number of councils taking up the precept on 30 March 2016.Additionally, from April 2017 the Spending Review makes available social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, to be included in the Better Care Fund (BCF). We have deliberately distributed the improved BCF in such a way that those councils with low council tax bases will benefit most.Taken together, the new precept and additional BCF contribution mean local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

Junior Doctors: Working Hours

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22896, whether his Department records the number of junior doctors working 91 hours or more each week.

Ben Gummer: The Department does not collect this information centrally; it is collected by local National Health Service employers.We agreed with the British Medical Association that 91 hours’ work in any seven day period is too long and not safe. That is why, in the new contract, there is a contractual maximum of 72 hours’ work in any seven day period even for junior doctors who opt out of the working time regulations.